A story for Vlad
by FrankySex
Summary: Cassiopeia tells the curious Vladimir how she became the serpentine woman that she is.


"How did I get like this?" I repeated the question back to Vladimir, who was one of my partners in the match. I knew of Vladimir, I knew he was a hemomancer. I knew how he escaped the city gates of Noxus, and where he developed his powers. I even knew the monk that taught him…well maybe not, I'm still undecided as exactly who it could be.

But I still knew of Vladimir, the troubled teen who killed two boys his age and ran off before the police could have found out who could have caused such a mess. I didn't think much of the sorcerer, not until we became partners and started to frequently communicate with each other. He asked me questions about Noxus, and I told him. He thought I didn't notice his glowing, crimson eyes staring at the lower half of my body, and I knew the curious man would ask about it sooner or later. But for some odd reason, I felt unprepared to answer. It was as if I had forgotten I was transformed, and not born like this.

I looked away from Vladimir, trying to remember what happened. The memory was pushed far back; maybe because I told myself it was insignificant, or maybe it was repressed because of the embarrassment I felt when I couldn't return to the courts of Noxus. I felt a light sting as Vladimir traced his finger down my arm, the light touch of his metal claws had drawn blood and he began to manipulate it, entertaining himself while he waited for me to speak.

"Vladimir." I cooed, drawing his attention away from my blood. He stared at me quietly while he sat against a tree, as if he was an audience for a show. I smiled at this, enjoying the fact that I was the main actor to perform for Vladimir.

"About a few years ago, I was serving under my father, Genereal Du Couteau. I was something like a spy; I retrieved information from foreign dignitaries and would confide in my father their private plans." Vladimir politely interrupted me by raising his hand, and I nodded me head for him to continue. "How did you get the information out of them? Did you _torture_ them?" A smile appeared on Vladimir's face when he mentioned torture and I was momentarily sad that I would have to disappoint him. "No, I was a little more gentle with my approach. I seduced them." I could literally see the smile on Vladimir's face sink into tight frown and I rolled my eyes at the hemomancer.

"Well, there was a time when Noxus had a barbarian pacification campaign, as our city was split between making peace with the barbarians or declare war against them. My father was getting frustrated with the campaign since it was going nowhere; the people of Noxus demanded that the situation be taken care of, afraid that another massacre would occur. With the people split between what course of action should be taken, I decided to get more information about the barbarians and my suspicions were with a tribe in Frejilord. I heard rumors that their leader was a rebel and wanted to betray Noxus, so I started there. A diplomat from the tribe was invited to a banquet and I took the opportunity to seek him out. I tried my hardest to get the smallest detail out of him, but he would not tell me anything. I never met a man that so stubborn around me."

Again Vladimir raised his hand and again, I nodded for him to go. "What was his name?"

I have an involuntary hiss when I said his name, I was still angry about the whole ordeal I guess. "Shei Farrow." Vladimir gave a sigh in response to my hiss, and I was unsure if it was him reveling in my disdain or annoyed with my dramatic speech. I continued nonetheless, warily looking at Vladimir to see if he had anything to say. "Shei would not tell me anything unless I swore to him that I wouldn't tell anyone what he said. I told him I would, and he took out his sword that was curved like a snake. He made me put my hand on the hilt and swore my confidentiality to him. When I finished my oath, I invited him to my bedroom. It didn't take long before he finally told me everything, from his leader's plans to rebel against Noxus and where they would strike."

"He trusted you with all of that?" Vladimir exclaimed, his eyes were wide with shock. He was leaning closer to me, as if he was drawn to my words. I decided to not chastise him for interrupting my story in a rude manner because I knew he was engrossed in it and didn't mean to upset me. So I patiently answered him. " Yes. It was as if he was confident that I wouldn't break my promise because of the sword I sworn on."

"But you did." Vladimir concluded, his orb of blood swirling under his hand. I was aggravated with his rude interruptions and summoned poison underneath him, which forced him to move from his spot. He glared at me and I returned the favor, challenging him to strike at me. His orb of blood expanded and constricted within the seconds that we stared until it finally returned to it's normal spherical shape, staying that way for awhile. He made the decision to not fight and found another spot to sit in. When he was comfortable enough, he looked forward to me and waited for me to start again.

"I took the information to my father immediately, where he was in a private room with many servants. When I began telling him what the diplomat divulged to me, I was overtaken with repulsion. I had a disgusting taste that stuck on my tongue and my body was rapidly changing, morphing me into this. The change was too sudden and I lost control of my actions, I took my pain out of the servants around me, slaying them one by one, even when they begged for mercy."

I took a small second to glow in the attention Vladimir was giving me. He was so fascinated with that last part that he almost dropped his orb of blood, quickly recovering it in his right hand. With a fake cough, I finished my tale. "My father was awe-struck, he didn't move or call for the doctors for a long time. He stared at my new body and escorted me to a mirror so I could see myself. I cried myself to sleep that night. I was…" I was overcome with sadness for a split second; a tear escaped from the corner of my eye and I quickly wiped it away. "I turned into this. I was no longer deemed beautiful, or even human for that matter. I couldn't keep my presence in court, which was the main way for me to serve my father. But I couldn't be useless; I couldn't fall into Katarina's shadow. I had to prove that I was still of use. So I abandoned the courts, the seducing, everything I knew. And I turned to sorcery, learning to embrace the powers that came with this transformation. I knew I was strong enough to join this place, and I had to prove to my father that I could."

I finished my story and curled my tail under me, so I could sit at Vladimir's eye level. I tried to decipher the emotions on his face, but it was too much going on for me to pinpoint anything. What mostly distracted me was his eyes, they were changing in intensity with each second, making me curious as to what he could be thinking. "Did you kill Shei?" "Of course. When father found out about the rebellion, he told the people of Noxus, ending the campaign and wiping out the barbarian tribe. I was on the battlefield that day and I made sure that _I_ was the one who killed Shei." Vladimir inched closer towards me, his orb of blood swirling in his hand. "How did you kill him?" He asked, licking his lips in anticipation. "I poisoned him, melted his insides until he was throwing up their liquefied parts." Vladimir took a small sip from his orb, trying to sate his sudden blood lust. "What about his family? Did you kill them too? The children even?" His voice rose excitedly, he was getting closer and closer to me as his free hand was opening and closing rapidly. I rolled my eyes at Vladimir and turned my back to him, slithering back to the campsite. He pitifully followed me, bombarding me about questions with the barbarians. "I'm done talking to you Vladimir."


End file.
